The level of snark in the screening of “Now You See Me” was at an all-time high. Part of me wonders why these people even go to see movies if all they want to do is complain about them.
Not that there isn’t plenty to complain about in the story of four magicians who stage entertai... [More]

Much has been made about the downward spiral of the career of writer and director M. Night Shyamalan. There are those who take delight in seeing the once high-and-mighty lain low, but I find it to be more sad than anything else.
For me, watching a Shyamalan movie these days is like seeing a once do... [More]

Sometimes it is good to look back. “Anything Goes” is a musical from the primordial days of the genre when stringing song-and-dance numbers together around a singular story was still a relatively novel idea.
Of course, it didn’t hurt the show’s longevity chances when all the... [More]

In the mid-1980s, every day at 4:30 I watched “I Dream of Jeannie.” I wanted her outfit, her bottle, and her ability to disappear. I loved her because she had all the control whether Major Nelson knew it or not. She was beautiful and powerful, all that I wanted to be.
My parents’ ... [More]

The key to a good jukebox musical isn’t just in the song selection, but how well those songs are used to prop up whatever flimsy excuse for a plot we have to suffer through while waiting to get back to the music.
What makes “Rock of Ages” an above average jukebox musical is that ... [More]

If you want to oversimplify “Frances Ha” you could say that it is a cinematic version of the HBO series “Girls.” Both deal with emotionally and socially stunted post-collegiate women living in New York City nurturing vague artistic dreams of fame and success.
While watching ... [More]

I really wanted to like “Epic.” I love walking through the forest and I am more than happy to imagine a group of tiny warriors riding on the backs of hummingbirds and fighting on the side of Mother Nature.
The cast is likeable enough, the animation is top shelf and I was even willing to... [More]

There comes a point in any doomed, long-term relationship when the magic is just gone. You find yourself going through the motions and desperately trying to remember why exactly it was that you fell in love in the first place.
“The Hangover” franchise is exactly like one of those failed... [More]

After I read the first eight books of the Sookie Stackhouse series I was like a stag at the end of rutting season; exhausted with gritty red eyes and barely stumbling around after such an intense period of visceral enjoyment. I could not stop reading. I can only be thankful that I was unemployed and... [More]

Greg: There are no rules.
Well, actually, there are lots of rules. And “Star Trek: Into Darkness” has a lot to say about when to follow rules and when to break them; and when the rules will save us and when they will damn us. But for the makers of this second film in the reboot of ... [More]